What creates the most energy? What only requires 1-4 square km of land? And what is the cleanest way to create energy? It's nuclear power! Nuclear power is a revolutionary new way to create clean energy that will last for an extensive amount of time, and won't even hurt the environment. However, nuclear power does create much radioactive waste and must be kept in special containers. Nevertheless, the population of the world is growing and we need more electricity to sustain our daily use of electronics. Taken into consideration by President Obama, he is requesting more nuclear power plants to be built around the nation because he supports the ideas of clean energy, little space needed, abundant amount of electricity, and the idea that it has no emission.
Important Vocabulary:
(words in bold are important vocabulary words)
atoms: the basic particle of all matter
nucleus: the central part of an atom
fission: splitting an atomic nucleus
core: the central part to the nuclear reactor
This is a nuclear power plant. The smoke coming from the top of it is steam produced from the boiling of the water.
element: a substance that cannot be split
fusion: joining together atomic nuclei
uranium: radioactive element
How is Nuclear Energy Created?
Nuclear energy is created in special laboratory called a Nuclear Power Plant. One of the most important necessities in creating Nuclear Energy is Uranium 235.
1. Scientists pack 8 ceramic pellets into metal tubes, which will be later stored for heat.
2. They take several metal tubes and well them into fuel bundles.
3. From a bigger view, they take several hundred fuel bundles and put them into a tank called a calandria.
4. Nuclear generating stations split the Uranium 235 atoms and the energy is stored in fuel rods.
5. When an uranium atom splits, the neutrons start a chain reaction by smacking into another atom. This process it called fission, when an atomic nucleus is split.
6. If this chain reaction is kept at an extensive amount time, the amount of energy created will also be increased. Therefore, a moderator is needed to slow down the the neutrons and cool the fuel rods contained with all the fissionable materials. What do you think the moderator is? Its water! However, the water used as a moderator is not like the water we drink, it is "heavy" water so the neutrons would not easily pass through the dense water.
7. The fuel rods boil the water into steam, and the steam travels to a turbine.
8. The turbine then collects the kinetic energy from the steam into electricity.
9. The electricity is sent wherever needed, and can last for an extensive amount of time.
10. The steam after done its job, is transformed into water and used again to be boiled.
This type of energy is renewable because during the process where the steam is processed through the turbine, it will cool down and turn into water which is used again in the process of creating nuclear energy.
Conservation of Energy
To create the output of electricity from the stages of nuclear power, it is processed through many conservations of energy. In the reactor vessels, there are amounts of Uranium 235, which is chemical potential energy, ready to be split atoms to create a chain reaction [Refer to step 6]. which The process of fission then creates Heat Energy which is stored in fuel rods [Refer to step 7]. The heat boils the water which creates steam and the steam is sent through a turbine which transfers the Kinetic Energy to electrical energy [Refer to step 8]. The steam turns back into water, and is condensed again to be transformed into steam [Refer to step 10].
Fission - The Splitting of an Atom
Here is an example when nuclear power is used at the stages of bombs. It uses the same concept of a "chain reaction" which causes the explosion. An uranium bullet in this case is shot through a tube to hit against another uranium sphere. This explosion will split the atom of uranium. The nucleus will collide with another atom which starts the chain reaction. This is all called fission. Also note that there is no use of a moderator, such as water to slow down the neutrons.
Are there any advantages to nuclear power production?
There are many advantages of nuclear power production. For example, a single fuel rod of uranium 235 can supply a house with enough electricity for a whole year. As you can see, a huge amount of energy can be produced by a small amount of fuel. Nuclear fuel also lasts longer than ordinary fuel. Nuclear power production does not have carbon dioxide emissions that could pollute the environment and harm the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants require a lot less area to use at foundations than other power plants:
Nuclear sites: 1-4 square km
Solar thermal or photovoltaic: 20-50 square km
(PV) parks: a small city
Wind fields: 50-150 square km
Biomass plantations: 4000-6000 square km (a province) [4]
Imagine gathering all the people of world to one place. All of these people would be provided with electricity for their whole lives with nuclear energy. The nuclear waste would fill up 12 Olympic pools. Most of the waste is low-level waste. 7% is intermediate-level waste, and just 3% of it (25 ml) is high-level waste.
Power per unit land or water area [5]
Nuclear 1000 W/ square meters
Wind 2 W/ square meters
Off shore wind 3 W/ square meters
Tidalpools 3 W/ square meters
Tidal stream 6 W/ square meters
Solar PV panels 5-20 W/ square meters
Plants 0.5 W/ square meters
Rain-water (highlands) 0.24 W/ square meters
Hydroelectric facility 11 W/ square meters
Solar chimney 0.1 W/ square meters
Concentrating solar power (desert) 15 W/ square meters
Are there any disadvantages to nuclear power production?
[8] Like everything else, nuclear power production also has its disadvantages. There are a lot of conflicts and debates on the solution for what to do with the waste of nuclear power production. The waste and used uranium 235 is radioactive and is not only harmful to the environment, it is also harmful to humans.
Another disadvantage is that there are a lot of accidents and dangers that occur in the nuclear power plants. Here is a list of accidents from the year 1957:
· October 1957, fire destroyed plutonium-producing reactor core and caused a leak. A report said that the leaked radiation could have caused dozens of cancer deaths in the area of Liverpool, Britain.
· Winter 1957-’58, serious accident occurred near the town of Kyshtym. Russian scientist estimated that hundreds died from radiation sickness.
· January 1961, three technicians died at a U.S. plant in Idaho Falls.
· July 1961, a captain and seven crew members died when radiation occurred and spread through the Soviet Union’s first nuclear-powered submarine.
· February 1981, eight workers are contaminated when more than 100,000 gallons of radioactive coolant fluids leaks into the contaminant building-Tennessee.
· September 1999, uranium processing plant at Tokaimura, Japan, exposed 55 workers to radiation.
Nuclear power plants also cost large quantities of money and time in order for one to be built. The government has not built a power plant for decades, because of all the nuclear waste.
[7]
An article from the Salt Lake Tribune talks about the clean and innovative idea of nuclear power. Living in a country where there is over 307 million people all around us, we need more energy than ever. Nuclear energy is the only energy that can create so much power, without the need of base-load power requirements. We need clean energy in order for our economy to flourish, and coal-fired power plants will just do the opposite. Directly stating from the news article, "Nuclear plants must be a major part of the country's transition to clean energy, or major shortages will occur, with resulting damage to the economy."
Why don't we create a clean Earth to live in? (Bibliography 6)
President Obama also agrees on the development of Nuclear Power. In a similar tone, he stated during the State of the Union, that he wanted a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. Building new nuclear power plants will create more jobs and an abundant quantity of clean energy for the U.S. to thrive on. In order for him to commit to his plans, he has proposed to increase the federal budget up to 51 billion dollars to help fund the construction of nuclear power plants. On February 16, 2010, the first loan guarantee of 8.3 billion dollars was given to build 2 new nuclear reactors in Burke, Georgia.
The state-of-the-art nuclear reactors are safer and more productive than the older models. The advancement in technology has improved nuclear waste disposal. These new nuclear reactors are being built all around the world, and many more are soon to come. President Obama has also announced that the new nuclear power plant in Georgia, "will cut carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plant. That's like taking 3.5 million cars off the road."
In conclusion, nuclear power has become to number 1 reliable energy resource for many countries around the world. It provides us with clean energy that will last for decades and will cut carbon-dioxide released to the Earth by a huge percentage. As we use more nuclear power everyday, we will soon eradicate global warming and live in a world without pollution. President Obama surely agrees on living in a clean environment, so why don't we?
A debate on CNN & YouTube on the topic of "What is your stance on nuclear power?"
(Note this is from 2007. Before Barack Obama became President of the United States)
Made by: Kevin Ko and Felix Duong
Introduction to Nuclear Power
What creates the most energy? What only requires 1-4 square km of land? And what is the cleanest way to create energy? It's nuclear power! Nuclear power is a revolutionary new way to create clean energy that will last for an extensive amount of time, and won't even hurt the environment. However, nuclear power does create much radioactive waste and must be kept in special containers. Nevertheless, the population of the world is growing and we need more electricity to sustain our daily use of electronics. Taken into consideration by President Obama, he is requesting more nuclear power plants to be built around the nation because he supports the ideas of clean energy, little space needed, abundant amount of electricity, and the idea that it has no emission.
Important Vocabulary:
(words in bold are important vocabulary words)
atoms: the basic particle of all matter
nucleus: the central part of an atom
fission: splitting an atomic nucleus
core: the central part to the nuclear reactor
element: a substance that cannot be split
fusion: joining together atomic nuclei
uranium: radioactive element
How is Nuclear Energy Created?
Nuclear energy is created in special laboratory called a Nuclear Power Plant. One of the most important necessities in creating Nuclear Energy is Uranium 235.
1. Scientists pack 8 ceramic pellets into metal tubes, which will be later stored for heat.
2. They take several metal tubes and well them into fuel bundles.
3. From a bigger view, they take several hundred fuel bundles and put them into a tank called a calandria.
4. Nuclear generating stations split the Uranium 235 atoms and the energy is stored in fuel rods.
5. When an uranium atom splits, the neutrons start a chain reaction by smacking into another atom. This process it called fission, when an atomic nucleus is split.
6. If this chain reaction is kept at an extensive amount time, the amount of energy created will also be increased. Therefore, a moderator is needed to slow down the the neutrons and cool the fuel rods contained with all the fissionable materials. What do you think the moderator is? Its water! However, the water used as a moderator is not like the water we drink, it is "heavy" water so the neutrons would not easily pass through the dense water.
7. The fuel rods boil the water into steam, and the steam travels to a turbine.
8. The turbine then collects the kinetic energy from the steam into electricity.
9. The electricity is sent wherever needed, and can last for an extensive amount of time.
10. The steam after done its job, is transformed into water and used again to be boiled.
This type of energy is renewable because during the process where the steam is processed through the turbine, it will cool down and turn into water which is used again in the process of creating nuclear energy.
Conservation of Energy
To create the output of electricity from the stages of nuclear power, it is processed through many conservations of energy. In the reactor vessels, there are amounts of Uranium 235, which is chemical potential energy, ready to be split atoms to create a chain reaction [Refer to step 6]. which The process of fission then creates Heat Energy which is stored in fuel rods [Refer to step 7]. The heat boils the water which creates steam and the steam is sent through a turbine which transfers the Kinetic Energy to electrical energy [Refer to step 8]. The steam turns back into water, and is condensed again to be transformed into steam [Refer to step 10].
Fission - The Splitting of an Atom
Here is an example when nuclear power is used at the stages of bombs. It uses the same concept of a "chain reaction" which causes the explosion. An uranium bullet in this case is shot through a tube to hit against another uranium sphere. This explosion will split the atom of uranium. The nucleus will collide with another atom which starts the chain reaction. This is all called fission. Also note that there is no use of a moderator, such as water to slow down the neutrons.
Are there any advantages to nuclear power production?
There are many advantages of nuclear power production. For example, a single fuel rod of uranium 235 can supply a house with enough electricity for a whole year. As you can see, a huge amount of energy can be produced by a small amount of fuel. Nuclear fuel also lasts longer than ordinary fuel. Nuclear power production does not have carbon dioxide emissions that could pollute the environment and harm the atmosphere. Nuclear power plants require a lot less area to use at foundations than other power plants:
Imagine gathering all the people of world to one place. All of these people would be provided with electricity for their whole lives with nuclear energy. The nuclear waste would fill up 12 Olympic pools. Most of the waste is low-level waste. 7% is intermediate-level waste, and just 3% of it (25 ml) is high-level waste.
Power per unit land or water area [5]
Nuclear 1000 W/ square meters
Wind 2 W/ square meters
Off shore wind 3 W/ square meters
Tidalpools 3 W/ square meters
Tidal stream 6 W/ square meters
Solar PV panels 5-20 W/ square meters
Plants 0.5 W/ square meters
Rain-water (highlands) 0.24 W/ square meters
Hydroelectric facility 11 W/ square meters
Solar chimney 0.1 W/ square meters
Concentrating solar power (desert) 15 W/ square meters
Are there any disadvantages to nuclear power production?
[8] Like everything else, nuclear power production also has its disadvantages. There are a lot of conflicts and debates on the solution for what to do with the waste of nuclear power production. The waste and used uranium 235 is radioactive and is not only harmful to the environment, it is also harmful to humans.
Another disadvantage is that there are a lot of accidents and dangers that occur in the nuclear power plants. Here is a list of accidents from the year 1957:
· October 1957, fire destroyed plutonium-producing reactor core and caused a leak. A report said that the leaked radiation could have caused dozens of cancer deaths in the area of Liverpool, Britain.
· Winter 1957-’58, serious accident occurred near the town of Kyshtym. Russian scientist estimated that hundreds died from radiation sickness.
· January 1961, three technicians died at a U.S. plant in Idaho Falls.
· July 1961, a captain and seven crew members died when radiation occurred and spread through the Soviet Union’s first nuclear-powered submarine.
· February 1981, eight workers are contaminated when more than 100,000 gallons of radioactive coolant fluids leaks into the contaminant building-Tennessee.
· September 1999, uranium processing plant at Tokaimura, Japan, exposed 55 workers to radiation.
Nuclear power plants also cost large quantities of money and time in order for one to be built. The government has not built a power plant for decades, because of all the nuclear waste.From The Latest News : N-Power Revival is Right Policy
[7]
An article from the Salt Lake Tribune talks about the clean and innovative idea of nuclear power. Living in a country where there is over 307 million people all around us, we need more energy than ever. Nuclear energy is the only energy that can create so much power, without the need of base-load power requirements. We need clean energy in order for our economy to flourish, and coal-fired power plants will just do the opposite. Directly stating from the news article, "Nuclear plants must be a major part of the country's transition to clean energy, or major shortages will occur, with resulting damage to the economy."
The state-of-the-art nuclear reactors are safer and more productive than the older models. The advancement in technology has improved nuclear waste disposal. These new nuclear reactors are being built all around the world, and many more are soon to come. President Obama has also announced that the new nuclear power plant in Georgia, "will cut carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plant. That's like taking 3.5 million cars off the road."
In conclusion, nuclear power has become to number 1 reliable energy resource for many countries around the world. It provides us with clean energy that will last for decades and will cut carbon-dioxide released to the Earth by a huge percentage. As we use more nuclear power everyday, we will soon eradicate global warming and live in a world without pollution. President Obama surely agrees on living in a clean environment, so why don't we?
A debate on CNN & YouTube on the topic of "What is your stance on nuclear power?"
(Note this is from 2007. Before Barack Obama became President of the United States)
Bibliography
[1] Nuclear Power Reactor GIF- NRC, April 7, 2010
<http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/students/animated-pwr.html >
"Nuclear Power" logo, Customized at Cooltext.com
[2] Nuclear Hazard Symbol, Crestock, April 7, 2010
<http://www.crestock.com/images/900000-909999/900136-xs.jpg>
[3] PFI Nuclear Power Cartoon, Cartoon Stock, April 7, 2010
<http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/cgo/lowres/cgon453l.jpg>
[4] Nuclear Power Advantages, IAEA.org, April 10, 2010
<http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Development/devnine.html>
[5] Sustainable Energy-without the hot air, David JC MacKay, April 10, 2010
<http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/sustainable/book/tex/sewtha.pdf>
[6] Clean Earth, Earth Day 2008, April 17, 2010
<http://ursispaltenstein.ch/blog/images/uploads_img/earth_day_2008.jpg>
[7] EnergySolutions: N-power revival is right policy. Mar. 16, 2010. The Salt Lake Tribune. Apr. 13, 2010. <http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_14685541 >
[8] Major Nuclear Power Plant Accidents. AtomicArchive. 2008. AJ Software and Multimedia. April 13, 2010 <http://www.atomicarchive.com/Reports/Japan/Accidents.shtml>